For various medical procedures, such as hemostasis, a device is inserted into the vasculature of a patient, is fed through the vasculature to a desired location within a vessel, and then expands radially. For hemostasis, the radial expansion of the device may deliver an expandable plug to a wound or opening in the vessel. For other procedures, such as stent delivery, the radial expansion of the device may force an expandable stent radially outward onto the interior wall of the vessel. Once radial expansion of the device is accomplished, the device may retract radially, optionally leaving the expanded plug or stent in place at the desired location in the vessel, and may be withdrawn from the vasculature of the patient.
There is an ongoing effort to improve various aspects of these procedures, including elements that can radially expand to deliver, for example, a plug or stent.